The Google Reader-Pocalypse

Mar 18, 2013 • Frances

Hello all! I've been trying to figure out what exactly is going on with the imminent demise of Google Reader. If you haven't already heard, Google Reader is going offline July 1st, 2013, which gives us a little while to come up with a suitable solution. It's not entirely clear what this means for the little Google Friend Connect sidebar, but I think it's safe to say that it probably won't be much longer for this world, either. So what's a blogger or blog reader to do? Let's look at a few alternatives...

Subscribe by email

I've added an email subscription option to my blog sidebar, should that be your reading method of choice. Of course, the Feedburner service for email feeds is also a Google service...

Bloglovin'

You can also follow my blog with Bloglovin'. Bloglovin' collects all your blogs in one place and lets you click through to read posts. Plus, it has a mobile app and importing your Google Reader list is a breeze. Bregje of Oooh, Shinies! has a fabulous little tutorial here on how to make the switch.

Feedly

Feedly is another RSS feed accumulator, just like Google Reader. In fact, Feedly currently uses Google Reader for its RSS feeds! But, Feedly has promised to transition to its own RSS accumulator when Google Reader goes down. Like Bloglovin', Feedly provides a pretty straightforward way to import all the blogs you usually read from Google Reader. I'm currently using both Bloglovin' and Feedly and trying to figure out which one I like better. I find it easier to flip through blog posts in Feedly, but it bothers me that they aren't in chronological order (Feedly likes to sort by "importance" of blog posts!) and I can't figure out how to track the readership of my own blog.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

I added social media buttons to my sidebar a while ago, and it turns out that it was a good idea! I try to link to every new blog post on all three platforms, and I occasionally use them to interact with readers and other bloggers.

Pinterest and Tumblr

I have links to my Pinterest and Tumblr accounts, and you're welcome to follow me on either one. However, neither is a comprehensive copy of this blog. Pinterest contains, well... all sorts of random things, and I am not usually a terribly prolific pinner. My Tumblr showcases my nail art and also contains some outfit posts and musings about weight loss, fitness, and body image. I'm having a little trouble picking up How To Tumblr, honestly, so I can be a bit spotty about putting things up over there.

Google+

I do not have a Google+ account for the blog, nor do I have any particular desire to set one up. So far, I've been pretty unimpressed with the whole thing. If it would benefit a substantial number of my readers, then, by all means, I'm willing to try it. Until that's the case, though, I think I'll avoid it!

Let me know in the comments how you prefer to follow blogs and what you're doing about the demise of Google Reader, or if you even used it in the first place.